


And Then I Met You

by Bling_Bling_Is_Jonghyun



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Just your typical royal boy falls in love with a peasant cliche, M/M, changmin is partially mute, royalty!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2020-05-20 23:10:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19386388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bling_Bling_Is_Jonghyun/pseuds/Bling_Bling_Is_Jonghyun
Summary: Jacob just wanted to have a good seat for watching the coronation with his friends. After all, it was the first male ruler the kingdom has had in several decades. What Jacob DIDN'T expect to happen, though, was to meet the young ruler by personal request. Soon, he finds out the hard way that hiding a relationship from the public is a VERY hard thing to do. Especially when one of them is the King himself.





	1. Chapter 1

“We’re not gonna make it in time!” Jacob said, practically dragging Hyunjoon along.

 

“You’re gonna make me fall!” Hyunjoon cried out, tripping over one of the stones paving the alley. “Let me go! I can run and keep up with you on my own!”

 

“But if I let you go, you won’t want to come with me,” Jacob said, stopping to turn around and pout at Hyunjoon. 

 

“If it matters to you that much, then fine, I _promise_ I’ll come,” Hyunjoon said, rolling his eyes. “But only because if you go alone you’ll undoubtedly get into trouble.”

 

“Thank you thank you thank you!!” Jacob rushed, running forward once again. 

 

“Where are we going? I don’t recognize this way to the courtyard,” Hyunjoon said, looking up at the roofs of the buildings they were weaving their way through.

 

“You’ll see soon why I’m going this way,” Jacob said, not offering much in the way of explanation. “Just wait. Follow me.”

 

Jacob led the two of them up a set of stairs, winding around and following a path of connected balconies before coming upon another set of stairs, opening up to the midday skies.

 

A voice cut them off before they went through. “You know… you could get in a lot of trouble going this way.”

 

Jacob practically jumped ten feet into the air, instinctively grabbing Hyunjoon’s hand. “Jesus Christ, hyung, don’t scare us like that.”

 

Sangyeon let out a hearty laugh. “You get scared so easily. What path did you take to get here?”

 

“I weaved in and out between the main street with the vendors and some side streets and-”

 

“Good,” Sangyeon said, taking Jacob’s hand and leading both of them now. “We’re gonna miss the coronation ceremony if you don’t hurry now.”

 

“That’s what I was trying to tell Hyunjoon!” Jacob said.

 

“Well _so_ rry, Jacob,” Hyunjoon huffed. “You put me on edge and made me anxious because you didn’t explain where we were going or why.”

 

“Sorry, hyung,” Jacob said, still running.

 

“Changmin, Haknyeon, and Eric are waiting for us,” Sangyeon said over his shoulder as he hopped from roof to roof, occasionally checking to see if the two of them were keeping up. 

 

“I kind of figured that they were,” Jacob said.

 

It was warm out, skies bright and clear. Good that it was, too. Prince Kevin was from warmer, more southern islands, so it would be more than fitting for the weather to be this way on a day as significant to him as it was. 

 

About a month ago, the previous Queen, Her Majesty Stella, first of her name, had taken ill. After a short time, it was determined that even if she did recover from this mysterious illness, she would never again be healthy enough to properly rule. So, Prince Kevin being next in line, stepped up and took hold of his position as the second eldest. Many thoughts arose about this decision of putting him in power. It’s been over three generations since a male heir had been put into a seat of power such as this, so all the talk and scepticism over this was understandable.

 

Jacob personally thought that Kevin would make a very sensible ruler, considering some of the… questionable choices that his sister had made. She was naive, young, still finding out for herself what to declare right and wrong. Though Kevin was in a similar age range, younger than her in fact, many considered him to be much wiser than Stella because of the decisions he would make as a stand-in leader when Stella would take leave. 

 

For example, their palace and city they originally came from, lie just upon the shoreline, though up above on a cliff which elevated them above sea level considerably. This was when they held a more northern keep. One day, some of the far eastern islanders decided to prepare a raid on the keep, claiming that their family had offended theirs in some way (though it had been later proven to be incorrect assumptions, accusations only). When their ships had come onto the shoreline, Stella still chose to stay put. ‘Let them come to us,’ she had claimed. ‘Let them come to us and let them know how wrong of a choice attacking us will be.’

 

It had only taken the foreign army a few hours to overthrow the city.

 

They may have taken back the city years later when their army had been rebuilt and fortified, yes, but ultimately, it was a considerable loss, what with all the damages and such. Their family considered it an embarrassment, a choice made by Her Grace Stella, and her alone. Many noble families suggested an overthrow of power then and there, claiming that if she lost their main city, what’s to stop her from making more wrong choices and losing this one too? 

 

Kevin is who saved her. He climbed upon the tables that night and yelled at everyone, declaring that they are all traitors as far as he was concerned. Plotting against the Queen and planning to overthrow her was an act of treason and could be punishable by death, depending on the severity of the action. Kevin made sure to remind them of that. The speech he gave that night about staying by their leader’s side and supporting her through _any_ choice. It was a legendary speech, the power of his words resounding throughout all of the kingdoms. What made it even more memorable was that Kevin gave the speech when he was just a boy of twelve. He was nineteen now, considered to be one of the wisest men in the city, and it helped him considerably that he had royal blood.

 

“Jacob?” Hyunjoon said, placing a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “You’ve been spaced out for a little while, is everything alright?” 

 

“Oh, yeah,” Jacob said, nodding. “I’m fine. Just thinking a lot.”

 

“About what?” Sangyeon asked.

 

“Nothing really in particular,” Jacob said with a shrug. “We’re almost there, aren’t we?” 

 

“Yeah, just up here.” Sangyeon helped the two younger boys up the ladder, putting them on the roof. As they looked around, all of them up there now, they spotted a few familiar faces.

 

“About time you guys showed up!” Haknyeon said, huffing slightly. “Took you long enough.”

 

“I had to wait for them and then show them this way,” Sangyeon said. “They aren’t familiar with this way. I just gave them a meeting point and instructions. ‘Meet me here and make sure you aren’t followed.’”

 

“Even so…” Haknyeon said, pouting.

 

“Changmin? How are you holding up?” Hyunjoon asked, stepping forward.

 

“He’s not doing so well all the way up here,” Eric said, coming to stand beside Jacob. “I just don’t think he likes how high up we are.”

 

“It’ll be alright, Min. It won’t be long,” Sangyeon assured, stepping behind Changmin and wrapping his arms around his slender frame. Changmin relaxed slightly, leaning back into Sangyeon’s arms.

 

“The only reason I’m even here is because Eric _begged_ me to come with him,” Changmin said.

 

“It’s a once in a lifetime event, Min!” Eric exclaimed. “We may never get the chance to see something like this again.”

 

“You’re right… but couldn’t we have picked a better spot than all the way up here? I mean yeah, we can see the entrance to the Citadel really well, but… maybe somewhere closer to the ground, somewhere with shade… anywhere else would have been fine, really,” Changmin said, head lowering a little.

 

“Anywhere except the ground level with all the others,” Hyunjoon pointed out. “I’m sure that none of us would want to be down there at any point during this.”

 

“That’s pretty much a given at this point,” Changmin said. “Plus, most of the people down there stink.” Changmin wrinkled up his nose, making the boys laugh.

 

“Changmin, we _all_ stink,” Jacob said, coming to the front of him and hugging him. Sangyeon laughed, and soon enough after, everyone was laughing a little, mainly drowned out by the noise the people below were making.

 

Suddenly the noise died, almost in an instant. If it weren’t today, Jacob would have been afraid of how quickly it did. But on a day like this, he knew what it meant. Kevin had arrived, and he was ready to be coronated.

 

The boys separated, sitting close to the edge of the rooftop they sat upon and looked down. The crowd had parted, leaving enough room for the man walking through them. Kevin’s black hair had been changed to now hold a single streak of deep blue, a sign of his lineage. His cloak, draped across his shoulders, was adorned with the image of a wolf running through some trees, another sign of his lineage. Each High family had their own sigil to represent them. 

 

A tugging came at Jacob’s hand. It was Sangyeon, trying to lead him where the others were headed. They were going around, trying to get a better view of Kevin as he gave his speech and got the crown placed upon his head. Jacob stood up, running after them. 

 

They did a big half-circle, running along the edges of the rooftops before lowering themselves down onto a shaded ledge off the side. They all sat, satisfied with how close to the entrance to the Citadel they were, and waited. 

 

Kevin reached the stairs, keeping his slow pace as he ascended the stairs. The boys all leaned forward, trying to hear what Kevin said as he turned around and began to give his speech.

 

It was nothing _too_ extravagant, if they held the speech to standards made by past rulers. Nothing really stood out or was too different from what the others had always said. They promised to protect the people, make wise decisions, follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and all that, blah blah blah. There was only one thing that stood out in particular.

 

Kevin was giving the last words of his speech, and then he looked over. Right at Jacob and the others. Jacob and Kevin held eye contact for a little while before Kevin smiled at him and turned forward once again, addressing the crowd. Before Jacob actually looked away, he noticed Kevin wave a few of his personal guard away. They disappeared into the crowd, and Jacob quickly lost sight of them.

 

Jacob’s ears weren’t picking anything up, save for the muffled cheering of the crowd. He didn’t even register that his own friends were trying to talk to him until his shoulder was being shaken.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Hyunjoon asked, looking down at him.

 

“He looked at me,” Jacob said quietly.

 

“What?” Eric asked. “We can’t hear you!”

 

“Kevin looked at me!” Jacob said. “He looked at me and held eye contact for a full thirty seconds _at least_ and then he smiled and looked away!”

 

“He did?” Sangyeon said, surprised.

 

“Maybe he likes you!” Changmin joked.

 

“Why would he like me though?” Jacob asked, standing up. He started walking back the way they came, and the others followed. “He doesn’t even know who I am! Or what I do or-”

 

Jacob rounded a corner, quickly finding himself face to face with two tall men. 

 

“We are required to escort you inside the Citadel,” the taller man said. “Please follow us.”

 

“On whose orders?” Sangyeon said, stepping forward.

 

“On the orders of King Kevin himself,” the other said.

 

“He… wait, why?” Hyunjoon said, stepping in front of Jacob as well, putting an arm around him a little protectively.

 

“It isn’t our place to question his orders,” the taller one said.

 

“It really isn’t,” the shorter one agreed. “But he seemed almost hopeful when he asked us to retrieve you. He asked for you specifically.” He finished off by pointing at Jacob.

 

“We’re not goi-”

 

“Changmin, it’s alright,” Jacob said, cutting him off. “Let’s go.”

 

They began to follow the guards. Jacob took Hyunjoon’s hand on one side, Eric’s on the other. It made him feel safe. He didn’t know what to expect from this meeting. But he didn’t have much time to think, either. It was a short walk to the Citadel, and they were there in no time.

 

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A/N / Edit: I realised that I had Jacob's name in place of Haknyeon's in some parts. Sorry for the confusion if you caught it! It's fixed now


	2. Chapter 2

Being escorted by the King’s personal guards was… an experience to say the least. The looks the boys got as they walked through the remaining crowds of people were interesting, curious… some even looking slightly jealous. Jacob couldn’t guess why, though. On the outside, he was fine, save for the iron grip he had on Hyunjoon and Eric’s hands. Inside, though… that was a whole other story. He was internally screaming, both from fear and nerves. Jacob was afraid, yeah, but wouldn’t anyone also be if the King himself just randomly summoned them? But he was nervous, too… Kevin was honestly one of the most attractive people Jacob had ever laid eyes on. He didn’t know what he was going to do or say or even if he was going to make a fool of himself.

 

The guards stepped aside, letting the doors glide open and light flood in the room. 

 

The boys walked in, stopping before getting too far into the room. 

 

“That would be all. Juyeon, Younghoon, you’re dismissed.” Jacob looked back, watching the two guards walk away. When he faced forward, he almost lost his breath. 

 

Kevin was much more attractive up close. His eyes were silver with flecks of amber, hair perfectly styled and everything. It was as if he was a doll, just dressed up to look nice. He had two people to each side of him, one with pink hair and the other with orange. Both pretty cute. 

 

“I’m glad you came willingly,” Kevin said. “I didn’t want them to use force to bring you here.”

 

None of them spoke, frozen. Sangyeon stepped forward, deciding to speak up for the younger boys. “Why did you call all of us here?”

 

“Well, I need to talk to you,” Kevin said. “I need you to be honest, too. No one else is in this room, save for us. Okay?”

 

They all gave nods, sharing looks of confusion.

 

“Okay. Firstly, why were you so far up there watching the coronation?” Kevin asked. “Wasn’t it hot up there?”

 

“It would have been worse if we were packed in the square below with all the others,” Hyunjoon said.

 

Kevin hummed in understanding. He turned his attention to Jacob now, smiling a bit. “You seemed to enjoy the ceremony.”

 

“It was cool…” Jacob regretted even speaking, feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as soon as he opened his mouth.

 

Kevin smiled, then silenced himself, thinking. After a moment, he raised his head to look at the group. “What are your home lives like?”

 

The boys looked at each other, expressions timid, afraid to answer. Sangyeon spoke, once again becoming the voice of the group.

 

“It’s… a pretty tough situation for some of us,” he said to Kevin, keeping his tone of voice soft.

 

“Tell me about it. I have all the time in the world to listen,” Kevin said.

 

“Well…” Sangyeon started. “Jacob and Eric both have no homes. They have to find people to stay with constantly, always moving. There have been a few times where they’ve just stayed awake during the night because they felt unsafe and slept in the library in the back during the day just so they would feel safe sleeping.” Jacob and Eric scooted closer to each other, nodding slightly and looking at the floor.

 

Sangyeon continued. “Hyunjoon is never in a safe place, wherever he is. Yes, he lives with family, but most of them are abusive and neglectful.” Sangyeon waved Hyunjoon forward, and he came up, raising his shirt a bit and turning around to let Kevin see his now revealed scars from the years of beatings he’s taken. “He takes the beatings rather than fighting back because he knows that others will have to take the beatings if he didn’t. He does this to keep others, mainly the younger kids, safe.

 

“Changmin only speaks with the small group of us here. He has a few mental issues, nothing super major, but his parents still constantly refuse to get him any sort of help. So we help him as much as we can, but we still can’t get him to speak out loud to anyone else. He’ll write to people and try to sign out things with his hands but he can’t exactly come to voice it without us around.”

 

When Sangyeon stopped speaking, an unsteady silence settled over them. Kevin was the one that broke it. “What about you?”

 

“What do you mean?” Sangyeon asked.

 

“What’s your life like?” Kevin asked, clarifying.

 

“Most of my time is spent taking care of others. These guys, especially. I just want to make sure that they’re okay,” Sangyeon explained shyly. Jacob took his hand and squeezed it gently, letting him know that it was okay.

 

“You all… you have strong stories. You’re strong kids,” Kevin said. “What if I gave you guys an offer?”

 

“What… what kind of offer?” Hyunjoon asked.

 

“Being in the castle with none of my close family is going to be hard… so I’m trying to replace the family I don’t have with a family of my choosing. If you’d be okay with it… I’d like you to stay with me,” Kevin said.

 

Jacob choked, leaning into Eric. Hyunjoon and Changmin’s shoulder’s relaxed, jaws dropping. Sangyeon’s eyes widened, speechless.

 

“You… why would you want  _ us? _ ” Eric asked quietly. “You could choose literally anyone in the entire kingdom… why us?”

 

“You guys are all in some tough positions. And I applaud you for pulling yourselves through it long enough to make it to now,” Kevin said. “You’re all strong. You deserve much better cards than what was handed to you, if you know what I mean. I want to give you the cards you deserve.”

 

“So you’re just… gonna let us stay in the castle? For free?” Jacob asked.

 

“Of course, I’ll ask you to do things, give you jobs and what not,” Kevin explained, “but I’m choosing you because you all deserve a second chance, and I’m willing to give you that second chance. It was the same scenario for Juyeon and Younghoon, and the same for Sunwoo and Chanhee here.” So Sunwoo was orange boy and Chanhee was the pretty one in pink. “They all had been through some tough scenarios in life and I wanted to help them.”

 

“This… this means a lot. To all of us,” Hyunjoon said. “Thank you so much…”

 

“Don’t thank me. You all deserve much much better,” Kevin said. “Do you have anything at your uh… places that you stay that you would like to bring with you?”

 

“We learned early on to keep only things that we need,” Eric said. “We keep them on our person so then we’re never without them.”

 

“That’s a smart plan,” Kevin said. He turned to look at Chanhee and Sunwoo, confusion on his face. “How long have you two been staying with me?”

 

“It’s been about a year,” Sunwoo answered. 

 

“It’s been one of the best periods of our lives, if we’re honest,” Chanhee said. 

 

“It’s like you two share a mind,” Jacob laughed.

 

“They’ve never been separated before,” Kevin explained. “I took both of them in as my personal advisors.”

 

“That’s so nice,” Sangyeon said. “If you don’t mind me asking, why haven’t they been separated?”

 

“We’re brothers,” Sunwoo said. “We’ve been through absolutely everything together.”

 

“We’ve never really been separated before,” Chanhee said. “We tried to be separated for a week long, and… let’s just say it didn’t end very well for either of us.”

 

“Ooooh, okay,” Jacob said.

 

“Shall we get going? I’d like to make it back before the sun sets,” Kevin said, taking Sunwoo and Chanhee’s offered arms on each side. The boys followed the three out the door, meeting up with the two guards. Juyeon and Younghoon, Jacob remembered. 

 

“We’ll be going now. I’d like to walk, if you don’t mind,” Kevin said to the two of them, and they nodded in unison, walking in front of Kevin. The light of the setting sun cast shadows across the streets, making it seem more beautiful than it would in the daytime. Vendors and passing civilians gave the group a strange look, but bowing before their King nonetheless.

 

“It feels weird,” Eric said, leaning over to whisper in Jacob’s ear. “Having all these people bow to us, I mean.”

 

“I get it,” Jacob said. “It feels like they’re bowing to us, but they’re really bowing to Kevin, as they should be.”

 

Eric paled, then looked to Jacob with wide eyes. “We didn’t bow to him when we went in.”

 

Jacob laughed a little, patting Eric on the shoulder. “Eric, if he cared that much, we wouldn’t be going with him right now.”

 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Eric agreed.

 

The walk to the castle was a long one since the Citadel was all the way across the city. Jacob asked Kevin once why they were walking instead of taking a ride. Jacob quickly apologized, though, for sounding like he was complaining, but Kevin laughed it off. Said he wanted to go ahead and just take a look at the city he was set to rule over. He said he didn’t get the chance to just  _ look _ at things sometimes, so he wanted to take any chance he got.

 

By the time they reached the castle, the sky was a denim shade of blue, snowed over with the thousands of stars that shone. Kevin stopped before they started up the stairs, inclining his head to look at all the stars.

 

“What’s wrong, Your Majesty?” Sunwoo asked.

 

“Nothing is  _ wrong _ ,” Kevin said. “This is just the first time that I’ve been outside at night. The sky is so beautiful…”

 

“It really is,” Sangyeon said. “It’s one thing that keeps us sane at night when we’re alone. We’ll count the stars until we fall asleep.”

 

“What’s the highest any of you has gotten to?” Kevin asked, turning to face the group.

 

Changmin turned to Sangyeon and flashed fingers. One, zero, two, seven. 

 

“Changmin said he’s gotten to a thousand twenty-seven before,” Sangyeon said, smiling a little.

 

“Really?” Kevin asked Changmin. “You’ve gotten up that high before?”

 

Changmin nodded.

 

“Are you sure you didn’t count some twice or even three times?”

 

Changmin shook his head.

 

“We should be getting inside,” Chanhee said, nodding his head in the direction of the castle. “You know they’ll all be waiting for you.

 

“Oh, I know…” Kevin said with a sigh. “They’re always waiting on me.”

 

“Who?” Hyunjoon asked.

 

“Castle staff. Maids, caretakers, and whatnot. They’re the ones that are to make sure I’m ‘healthy and happy’.” Kevin added large air quotes around ‘healthy and happy’.

 

“Are you not happy?” Jacob asked.

 

“I am! I’m just… lonely, you know?” Kevin asked. “I’ve been living in a castle my whole life with no real friends besides Sunwoo and Chanhee. Sometimes I can count Younghoon and Juyeon, but most of the time… I’m alone, if I’m honest.”

 

“Oh, Your Majesty,” Jacob said. “If only you knew how true loneliness was…”


	3. Chapter 3

As they all stepped through the double doors, Jacob was immediately overwhelmed by how big everything was. Big doorways, ceilings higher than any he’d ever seen before, even the little pieces of furniture littered around to decorate and fill space was big to his standards. Sunwoo and Chanhee stood beside Kevin.

 

Kevin must have caught onto Jacob’s expression, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Is something the matter?”

 

“I… no, nothing is wrong,” Jacob said, voice going a little quiet. “It’s just… really big. All of this. It’s a lot at once.”

 

Eric nodded behind them, taking Jacob’s hand once again. “Everything is really big compared to what we’re used to…”

 

“I understand,” Kevin said. “As you’ll be my guests and my friends, hopefully, I want to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. Is there anything specific you want for a room?”

 

Jacob looked back at the rest of them. Changmin tapped on Sangyeon furiously, pulling him down to whisper in his ear quietly.

 

“Changmin doesn’t want to be separated from the rest of us. He wants all five of us to be in the same room if possible,” Sangyeon said. 

 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Kevin said, nodding. “For now, let’s go eat something, okay? You guys look as thin as paper right now.” Kevin stopped, expression morphing into something of deep thought.

 

“Is something wrong?” Haknyeon asked Kevin.

 

“When… when was the last time you guys ate a real meal?” Kevin asked gently.

 

“It…” Sangyeon said. “It’s been a while. I don’t even think Jacob or Changmin can remember the last time they did. We’ve all eaten, of course… just not as a full meal.”

 

Kevin turned to Chanhee and Sunwoo, the two boys nodding and humming in agreement. Kevin then turned around, facing the group of boys again, Sunwoo and Chanhee heading off in the opposite direction. “Follow me. Let’s get you properly fed while they go prepare your rooms, okay?”

 

“W-we… you’re gonna let us eat here?” Eric asked.

 

“Of course I am. This  _ will _ end up being your home, after all,” Kevin said. 

 

“And… how much can we eat?” Jacob asked shyly.

 

“As much as you want,” Kevin said. “Eat until you guys are full.”

 

Changmin’s eyes went wide, looking up at Sangyeon with a smile that lit up the hall they stood in. Sangyeon smiled down at him, nodding and patting his arms. 

 

Kevin’s heart ached. Seeing how excited all the boys were to do something as simple as eat hurt him a little bit. Not personally. Just to think that someone had gone that long without eating a full meal that they get excited to hear that they could do such a thing was so sad to think about. It put a lot into perspective for Kevin. It made him realize how blessed he truly was to be in the position that he is.

 

The dining hall was set as if there were going to be several aristocrats littering the table sides, drinking wine and feasting on food that these boys wouldn’t be able to afford in a hundred years. There were two roasted birds that appeared to be turkeys or chickens, mashed potatoes, several different assorted vegetables and fruits and other things, and even an amazing looking cake at the end. It reminded Jacob of the sweets in the shop windows they would pass by every day. The ones that Jacob and Eric would talk about as they drifted to sleep, dreaming of the day that they’d be able to afford just a  _ crumb _ of one. But now, they get to share a whole one. There was even enough for them all to have a whole piece to themselves. Jacob looked over to Eric, sharing the same look. 

 

Kevin took a seat at the head of the table. “You guys can sit wherever you’d like. Pick what you’d like to eat and enjoy it.” He ended that with a smile, letting the boys know that it was okay to relax and be themselves.

 

They all sat down slowly. Sangyeon, Changmin, and Haknyeon sat to the left of Kevin, and Hyunjoon, Jacob, and Eric sat to the right of him. They all took plates but didn’t take much from the tons of food in front of them. 

 

“Guys,” Kevin chuckled, “eat as if I’m not even here.”

 

“You just made a mistake,” Sangyeon said, laughing lightly. 

 

“What do you mean?” Kevin asked.

 

His question was answered quickly, the hall filling with the chaotic clattering of the boys, save Sangyeon, picking things off of plates in a very messy fashion, utensils and silverware being passed around as they scrambled to get things off of plates. If it had to be described to anyone, it could easily be compared to how a hungry pack of dogs would have torn apart a fresh kill after days of not eating.

 

Kevin’s voice was quiet as he spoke, the boys finally having their plates overflowing with every food they could get ahold of. “Is this really the first time you’ve eaten in days?”

 

“It is,” Hyunjoon said, mouth full of green beans. “This is the first real meal that a few of us have had in months.”

 

“Why aren’t you eating, hyung?” Eric asked, looking at Sangyeon.

 

“I wanted to make sure you guys got all of what you wanted before I got anything,” Sangyeon said. “I mean, there’s still enough for me…”

 

“But… there’s no more beans or corn, hyung…” Jacob said, feeling guilty. He pushed his plate away, halving his vegetables and pushing them on Sangyeon’s plate. “Here, you have some too.”

 

“No, no, you eat it,” Sangyeon said, though he didn’t push it away. “You need it more than I do.”

 

“But… you need to eat too Yeonnie…” Changmin said, voice incredibly small as he stared into the table. “Please take something…”

 

Kevin looked at Changmin and nodded. “Yes, Sangyeon, you need to eat too. Please, take as much as you need. If you’re to stay here I want you to be healthy, my friend.”

 

Sangyeon smiled, nodding. “Alright.”

 

Sunwoo and Chanhee came through the doors at that moment, coming to stand behind Kevin as he ate. Jacob didn’t notice Kevin even make a plate. He must have made it when he was too focused on eating. 

 

“Please, sit down,” Kevin motioned for the two to sit as well. “Eat with us. I’m sure you’re just as hungry as I am.”

 

Sunwoo and Chanhee nodded, thanking him as they sat at the end of the boys on each side and began to eat with the group.

 

“Tomorrow, I’ll have Chanhee wake you guys up so I can give you guys a tour of the place, okay?” Kevin said.

 

The boys nodded, and Kevin continued. “Firstly, though, we need to get you guys some more clothes. Not that I think what you’re wearing now is fine, but not a lot of people would be happy with me if I didn’t at least give you new clothes while you’re staying here.”

 

Jacob raised his hands up. “N-no! You don’t have to do that for us!”

 

“Of course I do,” Kevin said. “I insist.”

 

“Forewarning as we all stay here,” Hyunjoon said, “some of us are terrible at receiving gifts.”

 

“Well, you’ll all have to get used to it because you’ll get a lot of them from me.” As Kevin said this, it seemed as if his eyes lingered on Jacob. Jacob seemed to notice as well, quickly turning his attention to his plate of food before the young king would take notice to the blush creeping up on his cheeks.

 

“Hey, uh, Ke- Your Majesty?” Jacob said.

 

“You guys just call me Kevin,” Kevin said, chuckling. “What is it?”

 

“Do you have gardens here?” 

 

“We do,” Kevin said. “Why?”

 

“Can I see them before we go to bed?”

 

“Of course,” Kevin said, nodding. “I’ll escort you.”

 

Jacob smiled. “Thank you.”

 

After that, dinner passed by quickly. Kevin made small talk, asking about families (or, sadly, lack of for some of the boys), where they came from, what their normal days looked like, and more. It was overall a nice experience. Even Changmin spoke up a few times, albeit voice being so quiet that nobody else could talk if they wanted to hear what he had to say.

 

Sunwoo and Chanhee stood up as they all finished. “We can escort you guys to your room now.”

 

The boys stood up, but just as Jacob got up, Kevin took his hand and smiled. “I can show you the gardens now.”

 

Jacob smiled and nodded, going with Kevin to the gardens. He couldn’t help but notice, though, that the entire time they were walking, Kevin didn’t let go of Jacob’s hand.

 

They entered a wide set of doors that were almost completely glass, and Jacob gasped lightly.

 

“Do you like it?” Kevin asked quietly, smiling when Jacob nodded excitedly.

 

“Do you just like plants and nature that much?” Kevin chuckled.

 

“When I was little, I’d always wanted to be an explorer. Because explorers would be able to see all the coolest plants and animals and places and  _ everything _ ,” Jacob said, smiling as he bent down near the balcony’s edge and looked at a plant that had big leaves and white flowers. “Not to mention, they could figure out where they come from and all  _ kinds _ of cool stuff like that.”

 

“You really like them, don’t you?” Kevin chuckled.

 

“I really do,” Jacob said, smiling up at him. 

 

“Come look at this one, then,” Kevin said. Jacob stood up and followed eagerly, looking at the plant that had long, stringy leaves and flowers that were absolutely  _ beautiful _ . The inner part of the petals was yellow, then it faded to orange, then red, then the tips of the petals were a deep wine-coloured red. 

 

“Woah…” Jacob said. “What are these flowers called? I love them…”

 

“They’re called Fireflowers, and I love them so much. But do you want to know something about them?”

 

“Hmm?” Jacob turned to Kevin. The moonlight made his hair shine, almost as if it were moonlight shining on the lake outside.

 

“I never thought that I would find anything that would surpass them in beauty,” Kevin said. He turned to Jacob and smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. “And then I met you.”

 

Not even the moonlight was enough to conceal Jacob’s blushing.

 

“Y-You… I’m sure you’ve met people prettier than me…” Jacob said.

 

“Not at all,” Kevin insisted. “It’s getting late, let me escort you to your room.”

 

Jacob nodded and smiled, letting Kevin hold his hand as he led him through a maze of hallways and staircases before stopping in front of a black door.

 

“This will be your room for as long as you stay here,” Kevin said. “I hope you like it. Goodnight.” He kissed Jacob on the cheek lightly before smiling shyly and walking away.

  
Jacob opened his mouth to say something, but Kevin was too far away to hear him by the time that he did. When Jacob woke up the next morning, an enormous vase of Fireflowers was sitting on the table beside his bed with a note.  _ I’ll show you more of what nature is really like someday. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I got distracted and ended up forgetting about this for a little bit. If you have any suggestions, you can give them to me on twitter @my_xiuniverse !


	4. Chapter 4

Haknyeon was the only one still there when he sat up, looking through the clothes laid out on the chest at the foot of the bed. 

 

“Where did those flowers come from?” Haknyeon asked.

 

“I think Kevin left them for me…” Jacob said quietly.

 

“Really??” Haknyeon said, getting up and looking at them. “They’re beautiful…”

 

“I know…” Jacob said, smiling and remembering Kevin’s words from last night.

 

_ And then I met you… _

 

“You’re daydreaming again,” Haknyeon said, smiling and ruffling his hair. “Come on, let's go eat some breakfast. The rest are already down there. Kevin said that at some point today someone named Hyunjae is going to be showing us around because Kevin ended up realising that he needs Sunwoo and Chanhee to help him move something.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Jacob said, picking out a grey shirt and black pants, black shoes as well. He brushed his hair and looked at Haknyeon, nodding. “Okay, let’s go.”

 

The walk down the halls of the castle made it feel like they were walking through the streets of the city again. Only the city had been renovated to the max and funded by the king personally. It was… very different yet it felt so familiar at the same time. 

 

“I’m never going to get used to this,” Jacob murmured, looking over at Haknyeon.

 

“Not gonna get used to what?” Haknyeon asked.

 

“This,” Jacob flung his arms out, gesturing to their surroundings. “We… this is our new home. This is where we’ll be living from now on. It’s so expensive looking that I’m afraid to touch anything. I was even afraid to get dressed this morning. I mean, look at these clothes!”

 

“I knooooow. They feel like the silk stuff that Sangyeon stole for us the one time,” Haknyeon said, snickering a little.

 

“He didn’t  _ steal _ them, per se,” Jacob said as they entered the dining hall. “He just… borrowed it. For an extended period of time.”

 

“That sure is an extremely extended period of time, then,” Haknyeon said.

 

“Oh, hey, before we sit down…” Jacob said, stopping them before they reached the end of the table, “you seemed really quiet the first time Kevin confronted us. Remember, the day of the coronation?”

 

“Oh! Yeeeahhh…” Haknyeon chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I just didn’t want to make myself look really dumb in front of him.”

 

“I get that,” Jacob said, continuing to walk. 

 

“Yeah,  _ well _ ,” Haknyeon said, taking one of the seats left for them, “you also seem to like him.”

 

Jacob blushed, taking the seat on the end next to Hyunjoon. “I do  _ not! _ ” 

 

“Well, it sure seems like it,” Haknyeon replied, starting to eat what was in front of him (which happened to be eggs, bacon, and fruit). “And besides. I think he likes you too. Why else would he leave such a giant vase of flowers for you?”

 

“He…” Jacob began to rack his mind, wanting to find any,  _ any _ reason why Kevin would have given him those flowers… but he couldn’t. His mind suddenly became blank.

 

“See? I’m right,” Haknyeon said.

 

“What’s he right about?” Hyunjoon asked, looking at him, now tuning into the conversation.

 

Sangyeon was to the side of Haknyeon. “What? Haknyeon is right about something?”

 

Jacob huffed, frustrated, and put his head down.

 

“Don’t worry, hyung,” Eric said, leaning forward so he could see past Hyunjoon, “It’ll be alright. Everyone is right at some point in their life.”

 

“That’s not just it!” Jacob said, quickly widening his eyes at how loud his voice was. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.”

 

“It’s okay,” Eric said, leaning back and finishing the last of what was on his plate.

 

“When is uh… Hyunjae? Getting here to help show us around…” Changmin asked quietly, playing with his sleeves.

 

“He’ll be here soon, I think,” Sangyeon said, resting his hand on Changmin’s forearm. 

 

“Does anyone here know what he’s like?” Haknyeon asked. “I only know his name and that he’s supposed to be showing us around.”

 

“He’s apparently the same age as all of us,” Eric said.

 

“Kevin talked to you?” Sangyeon said, looking across the table at him with a confused look.

 

“No, but… I found a book. Under my bed. It had a bunch of names of people that worked around here and things. I think there was a map? Or a floorplan of some sorts in the back but it was hard to understand. Maybe after he shows us around it’ll be more clear but I’ll show it to you when we get back to our room later tonight,” Eric said.

 

“Of course he found a book. The kid will read anything,” Haknyeon chuckled.

 

“Don’t make fun of me because I’m smart,” Eric said, tossing a piece of egg at Haknyeon, which quickly got bat away.

 

“Don’t make a mess!” Changmin whisper-yelled, looking frantically back and forth between them. It made the both of them stop immediately, knowing how specific and right everything had to be while he was around. If there was even a slight speck of dust too close to him sometimes, depending on his mood, he would freak out. Some days can be worse than others, though.

 

“Sorry, Minnie,” Eric said, quickly wiping down near his and Changmin’s plate. 

 

“It’s okay… just make sure I’m not around if you do… it makes me anxious,” Changmin said, cleaning his area of the table after Eric sat back down.

 

Sangyeon patted his shoulder. “We’re-” 

 

He was cut off by the large doors behind Kevin’s chair at the table opening, revealing a boy that looked not that much older than the boys sitting at the table.

 

He smiled as he stood behind Kevin’s chair, eyeing down the cleaned plates. “You guys liked breakfast, I take it?”

 

“It was the first proper breakfast we’ve had in years,” Hyunjoon said. “Of course we did. We’re grateful to have had the chance to even eat anything honestly.”

 

“I’m glad you have that chance now,” he said.

 

“What’s your name?” Jacob asked, putting down his glass of water.

 

“Oh! My bad. My name is Hyunjae! I’ll be showing you around today,” he said with a smile.

 

“Is this place as big inside as it looks outside?” Eric asked.

 

“In some places, yes, you could say that,” Hyunjae said. “Are you guys ready?”

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


The tour went on for hours. Eric was good to ask what he did, but he was  _ far _ off. It was enormous in some of the rooms. Glass chandeliers, tall glass windows lining the walls, balconies attached to several of the bedrooms… it was almost too much to take in. It was nice to see Changmin smile, though. When they entered the library, he lit up brighter than the sun. He asked Sangyeon and Hyunjae several times if it was alright to read anything in this room, to which he got yes as an answer every time. 

 

Jacob smiled as they reached the gardens, remembering Kevin and not helping but miss him a little bit. Haknyeon shot him a knowing glance as they reached the Fireflowers, and Jacob just gave him a look like ‘Don’t say it.’ Haknyeon chuckled to himself and turned away, paying attention to Hyunjae as he spoke. 

 

They were just reaching the last bits that they hadn’t seen when a voice spoke from behind in Jacob’s ear.

 

“Did you like the castle?” Kevin whispered in his ear.

 

Jacob jumped, spinning around to see Kevin standing behind him, laughing, flanked by Sunwoo and Chanhee, who were both holding back a smile. 

 

“You scared me!” Jacob said, resting his hands on his knees and bending over a little.

 

Kevin laughed. “Yeah, but it was kinda funny.”

 

The others were looking back now, smiling a little. Hyunjoon looked at Kevin and chuckled. “Don’t sneak up on him too much now, he gets scared easily.”

 

“I do not!” Jacob exclaimed, feeling his ears heat up a little bit.

 

“Yeah, that’s totally why you jumped three feet into the air when I whispered in your ear,” Kevin said, barely containing his giggles to speak.

 

“You’re mean.” Jacob crossed his arms and pouted. 

 

“Oh, you’ll live,” Kevin said. He waited until the boys were walking once again before leaning forward and whispering in Jacob’s ear again.

 

“Come walk with me in the courtyards tonight.”

 

Jacob nodded, not turning around to look at him. 

 

It was almost as if time sped up after he said that, already being led back to the boys shared bedroom.

 

“I’m gonna go on a walk before I go to sleep, I’ll be right back,” Jacob said, and, thankfully, none of them really questioned him as he walked away.

 

Jacob only faintly remembered the way to the courtyards, but he made his way there. Kevin was waiting for him on one of the benches around the fountain that laid in the centre. 

 

“You actually came,” Kevin said, smiling as he stood up. 

 

“Of course I did,” Jacob said, smiling a little bit. “How could I forget something from you?”

 

“Anyone could forget anything about me,” Kevin said, starting to walk.

 

“It would be hard to do. By the way, thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful,” Jacob said, smiling.

 

Kevin slowly took Jacob’s hand, swinging it as they walked. “They don’t compare to you, though.”

 

Jacob smiled widely, continuing to talk as they walked. They must have walked around the courtyard eight times that night, just talking about anything and everything that came to mind. How Jacob’s day had been, how Kevin’s day had been, things about them in general… it was really nice to both of them. Just having someone to talk to was something that Jacob wasn’t used to having. Not only having someone to talk to but someone that would actually listen to what the other had to say. 

 

They reached the end of a path that neared the doors back inside. Jacob started to walk back inside, but a pull came, preventing him from going inside. Instead, he ended up in Kevin’s arms. Jacob froze, not knowing how to react at first, shy, but eventually, he wrapped his arms around Kevin as well, resting his head on his chest. They stayed like that for a little while before separating, looking at each other. Neither could prevent the smile that crawled across their faces. 

 

Kevin didn’t let go of Jacob’s hand once before leading him back to the bedroom, promising that they would talk more tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long! I hit a bit of writer's block. Hopefully, you like this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long to post. I got so overwhelmed with everything else that I forgot about writing this. Hopefully this chapter is good enough so it makes up for all the time you spent waiting.

Jacob slept well that night, having no dreams but sleeping the whole night for once. He could have slept through the entire day if he wanted to. 

 

If Eric didn’t wake him up by bouncing on his torso.

 

Jacob groaned and tried to push him off. “I can’t  _ breathe _ , get off of me.”

 

“Who gave you the note? What’s in it?” Eric rushed out, still sort of bouncing on him.

 

“What do you mean? What note?” Jacob asked.

 

“The one on your table, dummy! It’s been there since we woke up, and you’ve been asleep, like,  _ aaalllllllllll _ day!” 

 

Jacob sat up, confused, and looked at his bedside table. Sure enough, there was a small envelope lying there, gold leaf lining the edges.

 

“I’m not sure, but I think I might know who sent this to me,” Jacob said, pushing Eric off of him more forcefully now and opening the letter.

 

“ _ Jacob, as I said last night, I invite you to have dinner with me tonight. I want to have it in the gardens, where I first complimented you. You’ll get more where that came from. Meet me there at sundown.” _

 

Jacob smiled at the letter, putting it down as soon as he was finished reading it.

 

“Hey!” Eric whined. “I wanted to read it.”

 

“You don’t need to.” He stood up and stretched, looking around and furrowing his brows. “Where is everyone else?”

 

“Downstairs in the dining hall eating,” Eric said, standing beside him. “It’s past lunch, but they went down later because they wanted to wait for you. I made them go downstairs and eat, promising that I’ll stay while they eat and watch you while you sleep so you don’t wake up alone and confused.”

 

“Thank you, Eric,” Jacob said, smiling. “Can we go down and eat now? I’m starving.”

 

“Yeah,” Eric said, smiling. He led the two of them down the hall and to the boys. 

 

As they approached the table, the boys seemed to be in a heated discussion.

 

“You seriously can’t say that!” Hyunjoon said.

 

“What can’t who say?” Jacob asked, sitting next to Changmin.

 

“Sangyeon!” Haknyeon said. “He can’t say that his jokes are good!”

 

“But they are!” Sangyeon objected, slamming his fist on the table for emphasis.

 

Changmin spoke up, voice no louder than a whisper, though the smile on his face was unmistakable. “You tell dad jokes, Yeonnie. They could be better.”

 

“Not you too!” Sangyeon said, defeated and sighing. 

 

“At least you try to make us laugh, and that’s the most important part,” Hyunjoon said.

 

“Yeah, we’re only teasing you,” Haknyeon said. “Keep telling them. They make us smile.”

 

“Are you sure they don’t bother you?” Sangyeon asked, voice a little quieter now. “If you don’t like them, don’t lie and say you like them just because you want to make me feel better.”

 

“Of course, hyung,” Eric said. “You always know what to say when we’re upset, no matter how cheesy or corny the jokes are.”

 

“Thanks, Eric…” Sangyeon said. 

 

“How’s breakfast?” A voice came from behind Jacob.

 

Jacob jumped out of his seat, almost having a heart attack and clutching at his chest. “Jesus, Kevin! Don’t do that shit to me.”

 

“Is that any way to speak to your King?” Kevin said, though he could barely get through a word without laughing.

 

“Well! You scared me! How was I supposed to react? You can’t just come up behind me and start talking in my ear quietly and expect me to react normally!” Jacob said. The rest of the boys were standing around, laughing at Jacob being scared so easily.

 

“He didn’t even sneak up on you, Jacob,” Hyunjae said from behind Kevin. “He came in not even trying to be quiet.”

 

“Well, it would have helped if it weren’t so sudden…” Jacob said, glad that he was done with his food now. 

 

“Hey, are you guys okay?” Sunwoo asked, coming in to stand behind Kevin. Chanhee was following. “You all seem like something is plaguing you.”

 

“No, we’re fine. Just a little tired, is all,” Hyunjoon said. “This is the latest we’ve probably ever slept in.”

 

“Really?” Chanhee asked. “What time was it usually when you would fall asleep and wake up?”

 

“We usually went to sleep around… 2? In the afternoon. And then we woke up around 4 or five in the evening,” Hakyeon said, done with his plate now and pushing it away from him slightly.

 

“That-... That’s only about 2 hours of sleep…” Hyunjae said. “Why did you guys sleep that long? Couldn’t sleep well?”

 

“Why not at night?” Kevin asked.

 

“We didn’t like sleeping a whole lot when it turned night,” Eric explained. “It was dark and there are lots of not-so-nice things that come out when it gets dark.”

 

Changmin spoke up, causing everyone to go silent so they could hear him. “It was the only way we could keep ourselves safe…”

 

“What do you mean, keep yourselves safe?” Kevin asked, crouching down next to his chair and speaking softly.

 

“W-Well…” Changmin started nervously, “If we slept during the day and stayed awake at night, there would be a less chance of us being attacked. Not saying that attacks don’t happen during the day, too, but a significantly less amount happened during the day than at night… Bodies would be found in the mornings, people’s houses broken into, kids gone… all kinds of things. If we’re awake at night, we could protect ourselves better… and hide more…” Changmin stopped there, staring down into his lap.

 

“Well, you’ll be safe while you stay here, no matter what,” Kevin assured him, rubbing his back gently. “I promise.” He stood up now, addressing the whole group of them. “I promise all of you that.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The day flew by, or at least it felt like it to Jacob. He was nervous. Excited. Afraid, almost. Dinner tonight was just him and Kevin. Not even the guards would be present. He was afraid he was going to say something dumb, or something very insensitive, or just… ruin his chances at a new friend, completely.  _ Maybe more than just a friend... _ Jacob thought to himself.  _ After all, he  _ has  _ been acting a little more than friendly with me… _

 

Jacob managed to push away all the anxious thoughts that plagued his mind and walked towards the garden entrance. Night had fallen, so dinnertime was now. He didn’t have any clue what Kevin wanted to talk about. All he knew was that it was important and they would be alone.

 

_ Y’know… _ Jacob thought to himself as he approached the gardens,  _ It could be him con- _

 

_ No. There’s no way. Why would he? I’m a peasant. He’s a king. Why would he have any interest in… me? Out of the whole world? No, it couldn’t be.  _

 

_ There’s no way. _

 

When Jacob found himself out of his thoughts finally, he looked around, in a path intersection filled with climbing roses and some poppies near the bottom. He smiled, crouching down to touch the soft petals. A hand on his shoulder stopped him, making him jump and look behind him at the owner of the hand.

 

“You really do get scared easily, don’t you?” Kevin said, a light smile on his face. 

 

“Sometimes…” Jacob said, smiling. Kevin began to lead him through a few paths, their destination unknown to Jacob. “I get scared more in a setting like this.”

 

“Why’s that?” Kevin asked.

 

“In a setting like this, I’m not familiar with the customs, so I’m constantly afraid that I’m gonna do something wrong or… say something…”

 

Jacob trailed off, caught off-guard by the sight in front of him. There was a small wooden table, candles lighting the small thing and showing that there were only two chairs there and two plates. Jacob couldn’t stop the thoughts that raced through his mind at the sight, only being snapped out of it by Kevin scooting a chair out for him. Jacob sat down slowly, trying to process what it all meant.

 

Kevin sat down across from him. “I wanted to make sure you had a good dinner, but I also wanted to talk to you. I figured this would be the only time I could get you alone to just… talk.”

 

“I-I, uh…” Jacob was still trying to understand. “You could have just… asked.”

 

“Yeah, I thought about that, but… with what I want to talk about, I  _ needed _ it to just be us.”

 

Jacob’s heart began to race, out of both fear and anticipation. “What… did you want to talk about?”

 

“Well, do you want me to ease into it or give it to you straight?” Kevin asked.

 

“Just say it. No sense in prolonging the inevitable,” Jacob said, chuckling lightly. That was his go-to coping mechanism- laughter.

 

“Alright then,” Kevin said. “I do have interest in you. And I would like to pursue that interest, with your consent, of course. But in order to do that, some things would need to happen.”

 

Jacob felt that the was blushing, but he had prepared himself in case this was the subject of the meeting. “I… alright,” he nodded. “I’ll allow it. But… what things would need to happen?”

 

Kevin laughed a little. “Well, that was much easier than I thought it would be. I thought I was going to do a lot of convincing and talking you into it. Anyway, the things that need to happen. Firstly, and please don’t take this the wrong way, I need to make you more presentable. This is only because other kingdoms that might know about this will practically crucify me if they see that I’m pursuing interest in someone that isn’t of royal descent. Secondly, we need to get you educated and familiar with royal etiquette. It may even be beneficial for the rest of the boys to learn this, as well, so I may just do it as a lesson with all of you. And lastly… I want to just know that you want this and you’re not just doing this because I’m a powerful person and I have money and whatnot. If you truly do not want this, then I’ll stop.”

 

Jacob sighed, hesitantly reaching a hand out across the table and resting it on top of Kevin’s. “Of course I do… this is just… a lot to take in all at once. I want to do this.” Kevin smiled and opened his mouth to talk, but Jacob cut him off. “But. You have to make me a promise.”

 

“What’s that promise?”

 

“Well… a few things are in that promise,” Jacob said, taking his hand back.

 

“Go on,” Kevin said.

 

“I don’t want to be taken away from the boys,” Jacob started. “They’re my family. I also don’t want this to be something that forces my entire personality to change. The second someone points that out, I’m pulling away for a while. Not from you, of course, but the situation. And I want you to be honest with me.”

 

“Of course. All of those things are practically givens,” Kevin said.

 

“I already have something I want you to tell me the honest answer to,” Jacob said.

 

“What’s that?” 

 

“Why me?” Jacob asked. “And why now?”

 

“Well…” Kevin said, sighing. “I’ve been given a choice. The throne will be given to someone else, though still staying within the family, or I can find a suitor to continue the pure line. I, obviously, chose the latter, hence why I’m here with you.”

 

Jacob couldn’t help the pain that shot through this chest hearing Kevin’s words. “So are you just… using me to keep power?”

 

Kevin’s eyes widened. “No! No, no, of course not!” Kevin got up, crouching down next to Jacob’s chair and took both of Jacob’s hands in his own. “I truly have interest in you. I just chose the best option for me, which was the suitor one. You just showed up, and I immediately liked you. You’re easy on the eyes, you’re kind, you’re just…” Kevin blushed slightly, smiling up at Jacob, “You’re honestly everything I’ve been looking for in a suitor.”

 

Jacob blushed, unable to prevent the smile that crawled across his face. “And you’re a hundred percent sure?”

 

“Of course I am. I wouldn’t lie to you,” Kevin said, kissing Jacob’s knuckles and returning to his seat. “Now eat up. I need you healthy as well as happy.”

 

They both enjoyed dinner, discussing several things about how everything in the castle works and how formalities work and such. Kevin never took his eyes off of Jacob, smiling the whole time. Jacob was happy. Truly happy, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.

 

It was almost eleven at night by the time they finished talking. Jacob got up, going off to his room, before he realized that Kevin was walking alongside him, insisting that he shouldn’t walk back all alone. Kevin took his hand, lacing their fingers together and escorted him back to his room.

 

They stood outside the door, talking quietly for a minute before Kevin pulled him in for a hug, which Jacob gladly fell into. Kevin kissed his forehead, and Jacob smiled widely, looking up at him. 

 

“Goodnight,” Kevin said. “Tomorrow, you’re free all day. But I’ll start etiquette lessons the day after with all of you. Sound good?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll let them know,” Jacob said. “Goodnight.”

 

Kevin shut the door behind him after he had gotten in bed, his footsteps echoing in the hallway as he walked back to his room. Jacob fell asleep with happy thoughts flooding his mind for the first time in several years that night.


	6. Chapter 6

When Jacob woke up, he heard the whispered voices of his roommates. He pretended to stay asleep, listening to what they had to say.

  
“There’s obviously a reason why he brought us here so suddenly,” he heard Sangyeon say. “You guys really trust him that much already?”

  
“I mean… we don’t have any reason not to trust him, Yeonnie…” Changmin replied. “He’s been nothing but nice to us.”

  
“Seriously, though, how quickly he pulled us in is suspicious,” Sangyeon said.

  
“What do you mean?” Eric asked. 

  
“You don’t remember?” Sangyeon had the tone of voice he had when he was stressed and anxious. This wasn’t good. “We were at the coronation. He had us escorted by Younghoon and Juyeon to the Citadel to talk to him, and all of a sudden he wants us to stay with him and live here in the castle?? Something isn’t right. There’s something up. There’s absolutely no way he would just pull us, random homeless kids, off the street and ask us to live with him unless he wanted or needed something out of us for whatever reason. Don’t any of you find that suspicious at all?”

  
“I mean…” Haknyeon started. “It was quick, but if there was a reason for his kindness, I’m sure that it would have shown up or been presented to us by now.”

  
“I just don’t trust him all the way… it’s really sketchy,” Sangyeon said. Jacob heard him fall backwards onto the pillows, so he assumed they must all be on the same bed talking.

  
“Well, have you even given him a real chance yet?” Hyunjoon said. “It would help if you even gave trusting him a try…”

  
“Not until I have reason to,” Sangyeon said. “None of you tell him about it, but I need to have him prove it to me somehow. Whether it be through action or otherwise, I need to have him prove it to me without knowing it that I can trust him. Make sense?”

  
“Yeah, I guess I get it..” Eric said. 

  
“Guys… we have a problem…” Haknyeon said. “You realize that if we distance ourselves from Kevin because of our suspicions, we’re gonna have an emotional issue on our hands.”

  
“What do you mean?” Sangyeon said, confusion coming over his voice.

  
“Jacob.”

  
Jacob froze, staying as still as possible so he could hear what they were about to say.

  
“What about Jacob is gonna make us emotionally hurt?” Sangyeon asked.

  
“Can’t you tell? There’s obviously something between them,” Haknyeon said. “They have something going on between them and if we do this, we’re going to hurt Jacob and make him think we don’t like Kevin or something for the totally wrong reasons.”

  
A sigh was heard. Jacob couldn’t tell from who, but there was a large pause afterwards. Changmin was the one to break the silence. “We need to figure this out.”

  
“We need to figure out what it is that they have together before we do anything,” Hyunjoon said. “I’m not doing anything if it involves hurting Jacob. Remember our pact we made-”

  
“When we were kids,” Sangyeon cut him off. “Yes, I remember, Joon. ‘No decisions are made if even the slightest possibility of getting hurt in any way is involved.’ I know. We need to-”

  
Eric spoke up, and he started sound fed up. A rare occurrence from him.“What we need to do is not talk behind Jacob’s back and talk about this as a full group. He’s involved in this, and he’s family. We need to talk about this instead of making up some worrying theories in our heads and then overthinking the whole situation more. He’s going to be more upset with the fact that we’re talking about his possible relationship with Kevin behind his back.”

  
Jacob smiled to himself. Leave it to the only blood-related sibling to stick up for him the most.

  
Sangyeon sighed a little. “You know, Eric… you’re right. I’m sorry.”

  
“Don’t apologize to me,” Eric said. “Apologize to Jacob when he wakes up.”

  
“But then we would have to explain to him the whole situation here-”

  
Jacob took the opportunity to sit up and look at them, rubbing his eyes slightly at the change in lighting. “I already know.”

  
Everyone seemed startled before some shook their heads in disbelief and smiled.

  
“Leave it to you to be the eavesdropper,” Changmin chuckled. “How long have you been awake?”

  
“I heard pretty much the whole conversation. And yes…” Jacob sighed. “I… I don’t know how to tell you this because you’ve made it painfully obvious that you don’t trust him.”

  
“What is it?” Eric asked, giving him the look. Curiosity, confusion, worry, and anxiety were spread across his face.

  
“I…” Jacob sighed, coming with it all out at once. Like ripping off a bandaid. “He wants me to be his suitor.”

  
It was like another war broke out when he said that. Everyone was talking and yelling at him, and Changmin put his hands over his ears, scared expression on his face. Sangyeon yelled for everyone to stop, and they did. He rubbed Changmin’s back, trying to calm him down.

  
“And you didn’t think of telling us immediately after it happened?!” Hyunjoon said.

  
“What did you say?” Haknyeon asked.

  
“What are you thinking?” Sangyeon asked him.

  
“He’s gonna forget about us…” Changmin said, sounding really upset.

  
“What’s wrong with you?” Eric said, though not in a mean tone. More in a worried one.

  
“Hey, don’t yell at me! I didn’t even know about this until last night!” Jacob said, getting increasingly distressed.

  
All the yelling in the room came to a stop when those words left his lips, replaced by confused looks shot to one another and worry.

  
“So he just kind of… sprung this on you?” Sangyeon asked. “No warning or anything?” The facial expression he held said more than his mouth did. He was upset, confused, and even slightly disgusted with Kevin, assumably.

  
“Not really…” Jacob sighed slightly. “I mean, he was really flirty with me before, and to be honest, I didn’t mind it, because he really treated me nicely and like I really mattered.” Jacob recalled all the dates Kevin had taken him on; the walks in the garden, the dinner dates with only candles as their light, all of it.

  
“But Jacob…” Hyunjoon said, taking on a tone only a disappointed parent would. “You remember what happened last time someone took interest in you…”

  
“I know, and I definitely remember. I would rather not remember, but I do,” Jacob said. “But Kevin is nothing like him. Kevin is actually showing me basic human decency, kindness, and he actually likes me for me and not just because I was easy to manipulate.”

  
“We don’t know that for sure, though…” Changmin said. “What if he changes you?”

  
“What do you mean, Minnie…?” Jacob asked.

  
“What if he makes your personality change? What if you get too used to this and end up forgetting about all of us and abandoning all of us because we aren’t as high of status as you are?”

  
Jacob sighed, standing up finally and coming to sit on the bed with the rest of the boys. “Minnie, I’d never do that do any of you. You’re the only family I have now, The only ones I truly need. If it were to ever come down to it, then I would always choose you over him. You know that. You all know that.”

  
A collective breath was taken, then released. Sangyeon was the first to break the silence.

  
“I’m sorry, Jacob,” he said. “This is probably a lot on you just like it is for us.”

  
“It is… and I don’t know what to do,” Jacob said, leaning to the side and resting his head on Changmin’s shoulder. “I know that he seems happy with me, and that’s good, but I also want you guys happy with my choice too…”

  
“How about this…” Hyunjoon started. “We stage something going wrong, when it’s just Kevin and one of us. If he chooses either us over him or both of us, instead of abandoning us, we can trust him. If he leaves us behind, since it’ll be staged, nothing will happen to us, but we’ll know if we can really trust him or not. Does that sound good?”

  
Nods and various sounds of agreement passed around the boys before Jacob sat up. “Wait…”

  
“What’s the matter?” Eric asked. 

  
“What kind of event will we be staging?” 

  
“Nothing too bad, I promise,” Sangyeon said. “But before I go into detail about this, I need to know. Are you with us on this, Jacob?”

  
“I…” Jacob lost his voice, his mind wandering off a bit. Did he trust Kevin enough to even try to save him if something were to happen to the two of them while they were alone? He really hoped so… and, after all, he did trust his boys rather than the king. “Yeah… I’m with you guys.”

  
“Good. Now, all we gotta do is plan. But I don’t want to do it now,” Sangyeon said.

  
“How come?” Changmin asked.

  
“We’ve been missing from the dining hall for far too long now,” Sangyeon explained. “If we stay up here for much longer, then they might come to check on us, and we don’t need them coming in and walking in on us making plans.”

  
“You’re right,” Eric said. “We should go.”

  
Jacob stood up, laughing a bit when he realized he’d been sitting on his leg the whole time when he felt the familiar tingles of numbness. Hyunjoon smiled and put his arm around Jacob, helping him get used to walking until the numbness went away. 

  
Kevin was already down there with Chanhee and Sunwoo by the time the boys reached the dining hall, all three of them already having finished their breakfast.

  
“It’s about time you guys made it down here!” Kevin said, smiling a little. “I was beginning to think that you guys were gonna skip breakfast or something.”

  
Surprising to Jacob, Sangyeon was the one to answer. “Have you seen us eat? We would never skip a meal!” 

  
Kevin laughed a bit. “Oh, of course. My bad for thinking anything else.”

  
“You guys sure are heavy sleepers, though,” Sunwoo said, not looking up from his plate just yet.”

  
“What do you mean?” Eric asked.

  
“We went up there a while ago and none of you would wake up at all!” Chanhee said, smiling at them. “We thought there was something wrong with you guys.”

  
“Oh, no! We’re fine,” Hyunjoon said, smiling back. 

  
“Are you a hundred percent sure?” Kevin asked. “Anything you guys need?”

  
“We’re alright for now,” Changmin said, voice practically a whisper. “Thanks for asking.”

  
“Alright,” Kevin said, standing up. Chanhee and Sunwoo followed suit.

  
Kevin looked at them all. “You’re free to roam for a while, but at about noon, I want you all back down here so we can discuss lessons and such. Since you’ll be living in the castle, you’ll have to go through etiquette training and such.”

  
“Alright!” Jacob said, smiling and nodding. The three of them walked away from the boys, and they all shared one look before going back to their room. 

  
“Alright,” Sangyeon said, sitting on the bed as the boys sat around him. “Time to stage an accident.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long to do. As the winter goes on I lose motivation to write. But! Things are getting better and I hope to write more as the weather gets nicer. I hope you guys like this chapter. It might not be the best or be up to what you hoped for, but I tried my hardest

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any suggestions for the future of the story, give me ideas on Twitter! @my_xiuniverse


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